American Bobby Julich has crashed out of the Tour de France. Julich was taking a curve and slid the bike into the curb, hurting his arm and perhaps his hip. He just got into the ambulance and abandoned the race.
So far Sebastian Lang from Gerolsteiner has had the best ride of the day. Major competitors are either still on the road or at the start and Lang’s time shouldn’t stand all day.
Update: Not a good day for the Americans at all! Landis has punctured on the course and Leipheimer is losing time by the kilometer. Are you kidding me? Keep your fingers crossed for Hincapie. Andreas Kloden have the best times on the course thus far.
Update 2: Landis changed bikes and is riding strong. He’s second after the third check, I think, behind Serhiy Honchar. No word on Hincapie. David Zabriskie finished about a minute or more out of the lead. Honchar is having the ride of his life.
Update 3: Looks like Honchar is going to win the stage by at least a minute. Landis will probably finish the stage second. HIncapie finished 23rd and lost several minutes to Honchar and Landis. Michael Rogers finished 4th and Sebastian Lang looks like he’ll keep third.
All in all, it’s been a very surprising stage. Landis now looks like the American to watch, but the mountains always change things. I can hardly wait!
